Under several investigations, he has been under investigation:
* By federal grand juries for his involvement in the Abramoff-Reed Indian
Gambling Scandal.
* By a grand jury in Guam over a separate matter.
* He has also been indicted on August 11, 2005, by a third grand jury in Fort
Lauderdale, Florida, for bank fraud arising out of an unrelated business deal,
the purchase of SunCruz Casinos
* Regarding the Jack Abramoff lobbying and corruption scandal, on January 3,
2006, Abramoff pleaded guilty to three felony counts, conspiracy, fraud, and
tax evasion. In addition, Abramoff and other defendants must make restitution
of at least $25 million USD that was defrauded from clients, most notably the
Native American tribes.
* Further, Abramoff owes the Internal Revenue Service $1.7 million as a result
of his guilty plea to the tax evasion charge. The agreement alleges that
Abramoff bribed public officials, including a person identified
as "Representative #1" whom many believe to be Bob Ney, a Republican
congressman from Ohio. Also included: the hiring of congressional staffers and
conspiring with them to lobby their former employers -- including members of
Congress -- in violation of a one-year federal ban on such lobbying. Ney has
established a legal defense fund for himself to defend against possible
charges related to Abramoff.
* Abramoff's guilty plea was part of a plea deal that requires him to
cooperate in the ongoing investigation of his role in congressional corruption.
* Regarding the SunCruz Casinos case, on January 4, 2006, Abramoff pled guilty
to conspiring to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, and of a separate charge of
wire fraud.
* He is also linked to a scandal involving a troubled multibillion-dollar
Homeland Security contract.
* Further, he made multiple payments to Doug Bandow, former Senior Fellow at
the Cato Institute, and at least one other think tank expert, Peter Ferrara,
to write opinion pieces favorable to his clients.
Linked to the Apartheid Regime - Abramoff spent ten years in Hollywood,
producing such movies as Red Scorpion, an anti-communist film made in 1988
just after his term with the College Republicans ended. This movie was filmed
in South-West Africa (now Namibia) and was funded by the apartheid regime in
South Africa through the International Freedom Foundation.
Abramoff is founder and former chairman of the International Freedom
Foundation (IFF) (a group that was bankrolled by the then-apartheid South
African army).
Supported the Contras - Abramoff joined Citizens for America, a pro-Reagan
group that helped Oliver North build support for the Nicaraguan contras and
staged an unprecedented meeting of anti-Communist rebel leaders in 1985 in
Jamba, Angola. His membership ended on a sour note, however, when the group's
millionaire founder, Lewis Lehrman, a former New York gubernatorial candidate,
concluded that Abramoff had spent his money carelessly.
Tom DeLay has called Abramoff one of his "closed and dearest friends".
Strange stuff in Guam - In 2002, Abramoff was retained under a secret contract
by the Guam Superior Court to lobby against a bill proposing to put the
Superior Court under the authority of the Guam Supreme Court.
The $324,000 was paid to Abramoff through a Laguna Beach, California, lawyer
by means of 36 checks of $9,000 each. If done to avoid the federal reporting
requirements for payment transfers this would constitute illegal 'structuring'
under 31 USC 5324(a). The form of payment might also be illegal if it was used
to evade federal contracting rules requiring an open tender for contracts over
$10,000.
On Nov. 18, 2002, a grand jury issued a subpoena demanding that the
administrator of the Guam Superior Court release all records relating to the
contract.
On Nov. 19, 2002, U.S. Atty. Frederick A. Black, the chief prosecutor for Guam
and the instigator of the indictment, was unexpectedly demoted and removed
from the office he had held since 1991. The federal grand jury investigation
was quickly wound down and took no further action.
In May 2003 Black was succeeded by Leonardo Rapadas at the recommendation of
the Guam Republican Party. He was confirmed without any debate. "Fred
Radewagen, a lobbyist who had been under contract to the Gutierrez
administration, said he carried that recommendation to top Bush aide Karl Rove
in early 2003."
In 2005, Public Auditor Doris Flores Brooks initiated a new investigation of
the Abramoff contract which is continuing.
David Safavian - A former top procurement official in the Bush administration,
David H. Safavian, has been charged with lying and obstruction of justice in
connection with the Abramoff investigation. Safavian, who traveled to Scotland
with Ney on a golf outing arranged by Abramoff, is accused of concealing from
federal investigators that Abramoff was seeking to do business with the
General Services Administration at the time of the golf trip. Safavian was
then GSA chief of staff.
Guilty - Pled guilty on January 3, 2006 to three criminal felony counts in
federal court. On January 4, Abramoff pled guilty in a separate matter to
two criminal felony counts in a different federal court.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Abramoffhttp://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060104/ap_on_go_co/lobbyist_florida_7;_ylt=AkoLD8xvhRAzA5BiX7pBMs.GbToC;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUlhttp://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/08/08/bush_removal_ended_guam_investigation/http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/110805/news4.htmlhttp://rawstory.com/news/2005/New_questions_surround_multibilliondollar_Homeland_Security_1130.htmlhttp://mediamatters.org/items/200512210001http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/dec2005/nf20051216_1037_db016.htmhttp://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=18&art_id=6701&sid=5674800&con_type=1http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/25/AR2005112501423.html
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